Cliff dive doesn't appeal to W.H.

It’s the rallying cry for liberal Democrats in Congress: going off the fiscal cliff is a better option than reluctantly accepting a deal that goes too lightly on revenues or too hard on entitlements.

That message doesn’t seem to be getting through on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, where President Barack Obama and other administration officials speak of the economic pitfalls of allowing more than $500 billion in tax increases and spending cuts to take effect next year.

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Case in point: a 14-page White House report released Monday morning to kick off the week with grim details of what going off the fiscal cliff means for the economy. The tax hikes alone would translate into a $200 billion hit to consumer spending next year, it says.

The study is part of the administration’s strategy to build pressure on congressional Republicans to agree to significant tax increases as part of a deficit reduction plan.

But it’s also a reminder to Democrats of the economic risks of holding out until next year to get a more favorable fiscal deal.

“The White House has to govern — that means getting a deal done quickly,” said Izzy Klein, a Democratic strategist and principal at the Podesta Group. “The White House is right to be putting this in real and urgent economic terms.”

Unless Congress acts by Dec. 31, more than $500 billion of tax increases and spending cuts are slated to take effect next year. The Bush-era tax rates would expire for everyone, the current estate tax structure would lapse, the alternative minimum tax would hit millions more taxpayers and jobless benefits and Medicare payments to physicians would sunset.

Even before releasing Monday’s report, the administration had been downplaying the idea that going off the cliff would be a win for Democrats. In a press conference earlier this month, Obama said failure to get a deal would provide Americans with a “rude shock” that could trigger another recession.

“It would be a bad thing,” he said. “It’s not necessary.”

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who will take center stage in fiscal cliff negotiations with Congress, has thrown cold water on the idea peddled by many liberals that the administration could delay the impact of the fiscal cliff a few weeks by not altering tax withholding tables.

“Don’t over-interpret what that authority gives me,” he told Bloomberg News this month.

The retail industry seized on Monday’s study, calling on lawmakers to solve the fiscal cliff riddle now and not wait until next year.

“If brinkmanship overtakes bipartisanship, we will continue to see less capital investment by retailers large and small, stifled job creation, and dampened consumer confidence, which will ultimately lead to lower retail sales and potentially another recession,” said Matthew Shay, CEO of the National Retail Federation.